Donald Trump/Buddy Christ Spoof

According to the journal article, "The Dissonance of “Civil” Religion in Religious-Political Memetic Discourse During the 2016 Presidential Elections" this meme highlights Trump’s made-up quote where he sought to appeal to Christian voters by claiming the Bible is his favorite book, suggesting his familiarity with the text. This is an example of Religiofication of Politics. The meme stresses Trump’s religious familiarity with Christianity’s sacred word, suggesting it informs his political actions. Yet in this meme Trump’s face is superimposed on the body of notable religious meme figure Buddy Christ, often used to mock religion, especially Christianity. By replacing the face of Jesus/Buddy Christ with Trump, this meme seeks to appeal to America’s dominant religion, Christianity, but in a way that challenges the candidate’s performance of religion. Just as Buddy Christ represents a playful, non-traditional, and potentially heretical character, Trump is portrayed as a Christian leader, but one whose actions and character are not to be taken seriously. This presents an argument that Trump only performs his religion in order to target and appeal to Christian voters, but these actions do not exhibit a true, natural expression of faith. Therefore, this meme mocks Trump’s statement and character, and introduces a multiple-layer critique that enacts Civil Religion.